Speaking to The Sunday Times, Lassek said: “You need lots of fat to make a nervous system and the fats in these areas [buttocks and thigh] are also enriched in DHA [docosahexaenoic acid] which is a particularly important component in the human brain."

According to Lassek, fat around the bum and thigh is particularly hard to shift after giving birth as our bodies have evolved to accumulate these fats and hold on to them for as long as possible for the good of our children.

David Bainbridge, a reproductive biologist at Cambridge University, added: “The brain-building breast-milk lipids are largely derived from the fat stored in a mother’s thighs and buttocks.

“Women with larger thighs have higher levels of these lipids. There is even evidence that they and their children are more intelligent as a result.”

Previous studies have also suggested women with this body type tend to have lower levels of cholesterol and more likely to produce hormones to metabolise sugar.